I've been a technology analyst for the last 15 years, covering digital media, TV, connected consumer, publishing and new emerging technologies such as 3D printing and crowdfunding. I was the founding VP of Research at GigaOM and recently founded my own company, NextMarket Insights. Follow my posts here by clicking "+ Follow" link under my name, follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, or listen to my podcast conversations with technology makers and breakers at Soundcloud.

Do you read e-books on an iPad? You might just be a social butterfly who likes to discover new books through magazine or blog reviews.

Use a Kindle Fire do-ya? Well you’re probably not as social, but you sure do like those reviews on Amazon.

These are a few of the findings based on a survey I recently conducted of over 1200 US e-reading consumers near the end of 2012.

iPad e-Reader Users More Likely to Use Word of Mouth

Percent of e-Reading Consumers Who Use Word of Mouth for Book Discovery, by Primary Device

According to our survey, nearly 7 in 10 iPad users are open to word of mouth recommendations from friends or family in looking for that next e-book, while 56% of Kindle Fire users use word of mouth recommendations for book discovery.

iPad e-Reader Users Also Rely More Heavily on Blog and Magazine Reviews

Percent of E-Reading Consumers Who Use Magazine and Blog Reviews for E-Book Discovery, By Primary Device

What about book reviews in magazines or blogs?

According to our survey, nearly 4 in 10 iPad users rely on book reviews, compared with only one quarter of Kindle Fire users.

Percent of E-Reading Consumers Who Use of E-Book Store Rankings & Reviews for Book Discovery, By Primary Device

So if Kindle Fire users are less likely to rely on word of mouth or book reviews from their favorite magazine or blog, how exactly do they discover new e-books to read?

How else but through e-book store reviews and rankings. Nearly 6 in 10 Kindle Fire users rely on reviews from their favorite storefront (which is likely – not surprisingly – Amazon’s Kindle store). iPad users also use e-book store reviews and rankings, but not to the same degree: 47%.

One last interesting piece of information from our survey? Younger e-readers, regardless of primary e-reading device, are three times more likely to discover new e-books through Facebook or Twitter than their older counterparts.

To read more about the different ways in which e-reading consumers find e-books, check out this post. To keep updated on our research and podcasts, subscribe here.

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